For the seventh year, the ESET Science Award recognises individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to science and education in Slovakia. On Thursday, 9 October, personalities whose scientific research activities have had a significant impact not only on the development of their field, but also on society, were awarded. Their scientific work is based on the principles of objectivity and verification of facts, thus strengthening trust in data and science.

This year, the Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia was the economist Martin Kahanec. He is the first laureate from the field of humanities and social sciences to be included in this year's award. Martin Kahanec is a professor at the Central European University in Vienna, the University of Economics in Bratislava and is also the founder and director of the Central European Institute for Labour Research. He has a long-standing interest in how the labour market participation of vulnerable groups is changing and the impact of public policies on their living conditions. Together with his team, he has developed a methodology for calculating a decent wage, which is used worldwide and provides a basis for the implementation of policies by the European Commission, the United Nations, social partners as well as large employers.

In the category of Outstanding Scientist under the age of 35, the award went to Daniela Vacek, a philosopher focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence. She works at the Department of Analytical Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v.v.i, and partly at the Department of Logic and Methodology of Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava, as well as at the Kempelen Institute for Intelligent Technologies. Her research focuses on questions of responsibility for the positive and negative impact of artificial intelligence, which have become an urgent challenge for the international scientific community in recent years.

The award in the category of Outstanding Academic went to Ľubomír Švorc from the Institute of Analytical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, where he leads the Laboratory of Modern Electroanalytical Methods. Together with his students, he develops new approaches for the determination of biologically active substances using advanced electrochemical sensors.

The winner of the Public vote was neurologist Zuzana Gdovinová, who has devoted her entire professional life to the research and treatment of strokes.

The laureates in the categories of Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia and Outstanding Scientist under the age of 35 were decided by an international jury composed of the world's leading scientists. This year it was chaired by Edvard Moser, a Norwegian neuroscientist and Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine, awarded for his discovery of the cells that make up the positional system of the brain. The jury also included Valeria Nicolosi, nanomaterials expert, Tim Clausen, structural biologist, Manuel Collados Vera, astrophysicist, Manuel García-Carpintero, philosopher, James C. Gee, radiological imaging specialist, Zdeněk Havlas, chemist, Stephen Reicher, social psychologist and Uwe Sunde, economist. The laureate in the category of Outstanding Academic was decided by representatives of Slovak universities.

"The laureates, as well as all the finalists, deserve great recognition. We, the jury, evaluated not only the scientific excellence of their work but also their contribution to society. The awarded scientists demonstrate that society can rely on the results of their research, as they are grounded in evidence," says Edvard Moser, chair of the international jury and Nobel Laureate.

Economist Martin Kahanec, laureate of the category Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia

Martin Kahanec is an economist who specialises in the labour market, migration, social inequalities and public policy. He is a professor at the Central European University in Vienna, the University of Economics in Bratislava and is also the founder and director of the Central European Institute for Labour Research. He has a long-standing interest in how the labour market participation of vulnerable groups is changing and the impact of public policies on their living conditions.a significant part of his research focuses on migration - showing that labour mobility strengthens economies and contributes to their resilience to crises. Together with his team, he has developed a methodology for calculating a decent wage, which is used worldwide and informs the implementation of policies by the European Commission, the UN, social partners as well as large employers.his aim is that economic research should not just remain in academic texts, but should shape policies that bring about fairer working conditions and greater prosperity for society. Alongside his academic work, he is also involved in popular outreach, linking the results of economic research to current social and political debates.

Philosopher Daniela Vacek, laureate of the category Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia under the age od 35

Daniela Vacek is a leading Slovak philosopher focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence. She works as a researcher at the Department of Analytical Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v.v.i, and partly at the Department of Logic and Methodology of Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava and at the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies. Her research focuses on questions of responsibility for the positive and negative impact of artificial intelligence, which have become an urgent challenge for the international scientific community in recent years. Daniela Vacek believes that we are writing the story of the most important technology of the 21st century. Her research shows that there is also room for human responsibility, but we need to focus on the notions of responsibility appropriate to the task.

Chemist Ľubomír Švorc, laureate of the category Outstanding Academic

Ľubomír Švorc works at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, where he heads the Laboratory of Modern Electroanalytical Methods. Together with his students he develops new approaches for the determination of biologically active substances using advanced electrochemical sensors. Their research is leading to faster, cheaper and more user-friendly analytical methods for pharmaceutical, clinical, food and environmental applications. He sees teaching and research as inextricably linked vessels. His students achieve excellent results at home and abroad and find wide application in the labour market. He attributes his success in both research and education to hard work, self-discipline and, above all, excellent collaboration with his students.